{"id":810038,"date":"2026-08-11T12:32:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T12:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/810038\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T12:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T12:32:14","slug":"mlb-power-rankings-this-week-weve-got-an-unexpected-rise-a-new-no-1-and-no-no-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/810038\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB Power Rankings: This week, we\u2019ve got an unexpected rise, a new No. 1 and no No. 30"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week,\u200b we\u200b ask a selected group of our baseball\u200b writers\u200b \u2014 local and national \u2014 to rank the teams from first to worst<\/a>. Here are the collective results.<\/p>\n

There will be more baseball in the final two months of the 2026 season. This might feel like a threat to some of you. The baseball offered by your favorite team has been that awful, perhaps. Or maybe your team would make the postseason if the season ended today, and there\u2019s more than enough time for that to change.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s a way for every team to feel good about how the 2026 season ended, even if it requires a sliding scale for some of the less-competitive teams. How can the best and worst teams exit the regular season with a little organizational momentum, however they define it? Let\u2019s find out.<\/p>\n

Record: 74-45
Last Power Ranking: 2
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: To be honest, it\u2019s not even about that anymore<\/p>\n

Sorry to flout the premise right out of the gate, but it\u2019s not difficult to find ways for the Brewers to feel good about the rest of their season. They\u2019re well-versed in this, making the playoffs in seven of the preceding eight seasons. They\u2019ve won the NL Central each of the last three years. They\u2019re at the top of this very list that you\u2019re reading right now! Ahead of the Dodgers!\u00a0<\/p>\n

So I hope it doesn\u2019t sound too negative when I say: I truly do not think the Brewers or their fans should care one whit about feeling good about the next two months. The shine of second-half feel-goods has dulled with repetition \u2014 particularly given the disappointment that has followed.<\/p>\n

2018: Lost NLCS to Dodgers (4-3)
2019: Lost wild-card round to Nationals (1-0)
2020: Lost wild-card series to Dodgers (2-0)
2021: Lost NLDS to Braves (3-1)
2022: Missed playoffs
2023: Lost wild-card series to Diamondbacks (2-0)
2024: Lost wild-card series to Mets (2-1)
2025: Lost NLCS to Dodgers (4-0)<\/p>\n

Heightened expectations are the burden of excellence. Nobody is criticizing the Pittsburgh Pirates for losing all these recent playoff series, you know? But the days of the plucky underdog are kinda over for the Brewers. The only way to feel good about the rest of the way is to make it matter in October.\u00a0 \u2014 Levi Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 71-48
Last Power Ranking: 1
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: A bullpen that doesn\u2019t limp into the postseason<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t noticed, the Dodgers have been stepping on rakes for the last couple of weeks. After snapping a seven-game losing streak on Saturday<\/a>, the Dodgers immediately lost the series to the Diamondbacks on Sunday. Also, you might be tonight\u2019s starting catcher, if you haven\u2019t heard. Limber up, it\u2019s going to be a long shift.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers are a deep enough organization to weather many of these storms, even behind the plate, but they\u2019ll still need the one thing every team needs in October: a functional bullpen. For all of their might and swagger, the make-it-up-as-we-go strategy that worked last year isn\u2019t likely to work again. Something like, say, Edwin D\u00edaz looking trustworthy would go a long way toward a successful final two months. Anything less, and it\u2019ll be another white-knuckle postseason from the team that specializes in them. \u2014 Grant Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 71-48
Last Power Ranking: T-3
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Another burst of elite Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.<\/p>\n

Acu\u00f1a Jr. came off the IL right before the trade deadline, and the Braves almost immediately won eight straight, including sweeps of the Marlins and Nationals (two teams that, for a while, were trying to play spoiler in the NL East). That Braves lineup just looks so much more daunting with Acu\u00f1a in the two-hole, and the Braves \u2014 for better or worse \u2014 are all too familiar with the kind of impact he can have in a partial season. Throughout his career, Acu\u00f1a\u2019s been at his best down the stretch (.974 career OPS in August, .929 in September), and so the Braves can feel good about having their best young player back in the lineup when it matters most. \u2014 Chad Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 69-50
Last Power Ranking: T-3<\/p>\n

How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Eleven(-ish) players coming off the IL<\/p>\n

The Cubs already look dangerous. Their offense is great, and their pitching staff has been reinforced by four trades at the deadline (three starters, one reliever). That they\u2019re this good is truly mind-boggling, given the number of injuries they\u2019ve had this year.<\/p>\n

But it looks like the cavalry is returning from the IL soon, and it could take some creative shuffling to find roster spots for everyone.<\/p>\n

Already on a rehab assignment: Edward Cabrera, Shelby Miller, Hoby Milner, Daniel Palencia<\/p>\n

Could return before season\u2019s end: Ben Brown, Hunter Harvey, Gavin Hollowell, Riley Martin, Phil Maton, Matt Shaw, Justin Steele<\/p>\n

The Cubs and their fans can already feel good about having weathered the worst of the storm. The sailing could get a little smoother soon. \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 72-46
Last Power Ranking: 5
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: By riding an elite rotation into October<\/p>\n

With the Rays, it\u2019s always pitching. I mean, have you checked the AL leaderboard lately? Did you happen to notice that Drew Rasmussen has put himself into the Cy Young conversation? He\u2019s still probably somewhere behind Dylan Cease and Cam Schlittler, but Rasmussen has been incredible, and teammate Nick Martinez has an even better ERA. Shane McClanahan\u2019s latest injury seems relatively mild, the Rays\u2019 fingers are crossed on Griffin Jax\u2019s elbow, and their pitching department now has its hands on Freddy Peralta. How good could he be down the stretch? When the season started, the Rays had the lowest playoff odds in the AL East. Now, they have the best playoff odds in the American League, and that rotation will make them dangerous in October. \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 64-54
Last Power Ranking: 7
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: [Gestures broadly at everything]<\/p>\n

Look, I\u2019m not much for social media. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever shared a meme in my life, but even I know the \u201cgestures broadly at everything\u201d concept. I think it\u2019s typically used in a negative context, correct? But is it socially acceptable to use it to point out rainbows, butterflies, resurgent third basemen and 23-year-old lefties striking out 14 in a game? Because the Red Sox have so many things going right \u2014 Patrick Sandoval back from injury! Brayan Bello for multiple innings out of the bullpen! Andruw Monasterio thriving in an everyday role! \u2014 that Caleb Durbin and Patrick Tolle are just the tip of the spear. Adley Rutschman is expected to join them Tuesday, Garrett Crochet could be back, too, and their once-dead-in-the-water playoff odds are now well above 90 percent. So, what do the Red Sox need to feel good about the rest of the season? Is all of this enough? \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Why the Red Sox resurgence is historic<\/p>\n

Ken Rosenthal and Johnny Sweet<\/p>\n

Record: 66-52
Last Power Ranking: 6
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: With a bunch of clean MRIs<\/p>\n

As I write this, the Yankees\u2019 playoff odds are 99.1 percent on FanGraphs. That\u2019s close enough to Dodgers territory to start thinking ahead the way the Dodgers do when they imagine Blake Snell pitching to Will Smith in Game 2 of a playoff series. The Yankees have Carlos Rod\u00f3n on a rehab assignment, Clarke Schmidt playing catch, Cody Bellinger taking batting practice, Giancarlo Stanton running and Aaron Judge ramping up his workouts enough to confidently declare he\u2019ll \u201cbe back this season<\/a>.\u201d When those guys get healthy, they\u2019ll join a team that\u2019s finally solved its shortstop problem<\/a>. \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 64-56
Last Power Ranking: 9
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Trea Turner charging into the ring, throwing haymakers<\/p>\n

You know in professional wrestling when some gigantic, unbeatable superstar gets hit in the head with a folding chair and collapses in defeat as his opponent taunts the crowd, only for the knocked-out guy\u2019s buddy to sprint into the ring to save the day? Well, is that Trea Turner\u2019s music?<\/p>\n

He\u2019s had nine multi-hit games in the past month \u2014 the same number he had in two and a half months earlier this season \u2014 and he\u2019s been top 20 in NL fWAR the past 30 days. The Phillies added Luis Arraez at the trade deadline, and Kyle Schwarber might hit 50 homers again, but they really need Turner to make the whole thing work. The fact he\u2019s showing signs of life is good news for a team that has to believe it is moving in the right direction. The better Turner plays, the better the Phillies will feel. \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 64-56
Last Power Ranking: T-10
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Postseason or bust \u2026 with a twist<\/p>\n

Like most of the teams in the squishy middle, the Diamondbacks are chasing after one of the three wild cards, and their biggest problem is the number of teams chasing them \u2014 which is somewhere between eight and nine, depending on your definition of \u201cin the race.\u201d If they miss out, especially after leading the pack in August, it\u2019ll be hard to spin their final two months as anything other than a failure.<\/p>\n

However, there could still be a consolation prize. If the D-Backs manage to pull off the seemingly contradictory feats of \u201closing too much\u201d and \u201chelping Geraldo Perdomo reclaim his MVP-worthy form\u201d at the same time, they can still feel half-decent, pun intended. He\u2019s that important to the franchise and that far below his ludicrously high ceiling, which is high enough to help the Diamondbacks compete with the Dodgers instead of the Marlins.\u00a0 \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 61-56
Last Power Ranking: 8
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Just ride the good vibes, man<\/p>\n

Look, after the last three seasons on the South Side, everyone already feels good about this one. The team could go on to lose the rest of its games and miss the postseason entirely, and I\u2019m pretty sure the general response would be something along the lines of, \u201cBummer how it ended, but at least it was so much better this year, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sox are young, fun, and should be good for years to come. They\u2019re currently pulling off a worst-to-first in the AL Central, heading to the playoffs a year after losing 102 games!<\/p>\n

It already feels good, man. Just enjoy wherever this ride is going. \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 58-60
Last Power Ranking: 20
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: I mean \u2026 go to the playoffs, I guess?!<\/p>\n

At the time of writing, there were 12 AL teams either in, or within 3 1\/2 games of, a playoff spot. The Tigers were right there in the middle, a game behind the Rangers for the final wild-card spot. Starting with Texas, let\u2019s look at all of those teams\u2019 run differentials and expected win-loss records:<\/p>\n

AL Wild Card “Contenders”<\/p>\n

TeamRun Diff.W\/L (Mon.)XW\/L<\/p>\n

Rangers<\/p>\n

-33<\/p>\n

59-59<\/p>\n

55-63<\/p>\n

Tigers<\/p>\n

+87<\/p>\n

58-60<\/p>\n

68-50<\/p>\n

Twins<\/p>\n

-35<\/p>\n

58-61<\/p>\n

55-63<\/p>\n

Guardians<\/p>\n

-27<\/p>\n

58-61<\/p>\n

56-63<\/p>\n

Orioles<\/p>\n

-33<\/p>\n

57-61<\/p>\n

56-62<\/p>\n

Mariners<\/p>\n

-19<\/p>\n

56-63<\/p>\n

57-62<\/p>\n

Blue Jays<\/p>\n

-59<\/p>\n

56-63<\/p>\n

53-66<\/p>\n

To quote Sesame Street: one of these things is not like the other.<\/p>\n

Detroit did play a lot of these games with Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize on the team, for sure. But they also played a lot of them without Kerry Carpenter, Wenceel P\u00e9rez, Jack Flaherty, Justin Verlander, Parker Meadows, the recently activated Jackson Jobe and new addition River Ryan, all of whom could be active before season\u2019s end.<\/p>\n

And if you want the not-gonna-happen-but-wouldn\u2019t-it-be-dramatic outcome: Detroit makes it into the playoffs and goes on an improbable run, and Skubal gets that World Series ring after all, despite losing Game 7. \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 63-57
Last Power Ranking: 12
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: It\u2019s postseason or bust<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a coincidence that several of the responses to the prompts in this middle section will be \u201cpostseason or bust.\u201d The teams in the middle of the wide-open wild-card scrum aren\u2019t going to feel good about consolation prizes if they come up short, especially if they were buyers at the deadline. Wanna feel good about the rest of the season? Be among the 40 percent of baseball teams in the postseason, not the 60 percent outside of it.<\/p>\n

For the Padres, though, who have leveraged so, so much of their future over the past few seasons to keep their championship hopes alive, the urgency is a little more intense. They didn\u2019t tear the farm down (even more) to rebuild their rotation just to say \u201cGee whiz, get \u2018em next year.\u201d It\u2019s playoffs or nothing until October, when it immediately pivots to World Series or nothing, even more than most teams. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 60-59
Last Power Ranking: 13
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Basking in the highlights of a young core<\/p>\n

The Marlins could miss the playoffs and still finish with a better record than most were expecting. In fact, that\u2019s probably what\u2019s going to happen. So, the thing to feel good about is the fact it\u2019s the middle of August, and Otto Lopez still looks like one of the best infielders in baseball. (His name is going to be pretty high on some NL MVP ballots.) Griffin Conine is healthy again, and he\u2019s been hitting for a ton of power. Eury P\u00e9rez is going to pitch against Paul Skenes on Tuesday, and it\u2019s P\u00e9rez with the better ERA and lower WHIP. \u00a0The Marlins never seemed quite ready to win this season, but they made a bit of a run, and they\u2019re building a core that could win in the near future. Further establishing that core is enough to feel good about down the stretch. \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 61-59
Last Power Ranking: 16
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Winning the AL West<\/p>\n

Forget this wild-card nonsense. Have some danged pride in yourself, Astros. It\u2019s one thing for perennial loser Charlie Brown to accept a scratched-out valentine in \u201cBe My Valentine, Charlie Brown,\u201d but when a recent World Series-winner (twice over) does it, it\u2019s just gross. You don\u2019t have to stoop to that level.<\/p>\n

As of this writing, the Astros have predictably stumbled out of bed to reclaim first place, but they\u2019ll have to stay there if they want to look in the mirror. They can\u2019t sully themselves and have to start watching Orioles box scores like a bunch of animals. The only way out of that miserable fate is to keep winning more games than the other teams in the AL West, per usual. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 59-61
Last Power Ranking: 18
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Just putting CJ Abrams in the lineup<\/p>\n

Abrams is still with the team, and that seems to be a clear sign that the Nationals don\u2019t think they\u2019re far from playoff relevance. New head of baseball operations Paul Toboni sold at the trade deadline, but he didn\u2019t sell high on the 25-year-old, despite his breakout season at the plate (and Toboni certainly could have with Abrams approaching his second round of arbitration). The Nationals sold high on Luis Garc\u00eda Jr., Curtis Mead and Foster Griffin, but not on the shortstop who could be a core piece of the next great Nationals team. The Nats aren\u2019t quite there yet, but Jackson Kent is on his way,<\/a> and the fanbase can feel good that Abrams and James Wood have a future in D.C. \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 58-62
Last Power Ranking: T-10
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Just a little crumb of a miracle? A healthy Paul Skenes<\/p>\n

The Pirates haven\u2019t won a playoff series* since 1979. So if we\u2019re shooting for the moon, I\u2019m sure Pirates fans would relish a storyline where the returns of Oneil Cruz (soon) and Konnor Griffin (not that soon) help put the finishing touches on an improbable return to the champagne store. What a cool surprise for the champagne store workers, who by now would almost certainly assume the Pirates had just moved away without saying goodbye. Heartwarming stuff, all around.<\/p>\n

Alas, Pittsburgh also hasn\u2019t won a regular-season series in a while (July 18-19), so here in the real world, how about a more realistic nugget: Skenes\u2019 average fastball velocity has gone from 98.8 (2024) to 98.2 (2025) and was all the way down to 96.5 in July.<\/p>\n

So far in August, it has crept back up to 97.1, so maybe that\u2019s a good sign? It would definitely feel good if that\u2019s a good sign. \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

*They did win a one-game wild-card playoff against the Reds in 2013 \u2026 but no series.<\/p>\n

Record: 58-61
Last Power Ranking: 15
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: If their young bats are, in fact, good bats<\/p>\n

This prompt would have been easier a few weeks ago, but Cleveland entered play Monday night tied with the Twins for third place in the division. So, sure \u2014 a rapid turnaround would do the trick. But in the meantime \u2026<\/p>\n

The knock on the Guardians hasn\u2019t changed. They have a pitching factory that cranks out diamond after diamond, but it\u2019s a real shame that their hitting factory is mostly just a guy throwing hamburgers into the street while yelling about demons (and the burgers aren\u2019t even that good).<\/p>\n

It seems like that has begun to change, though. Here\u2019s a list of players who entered this year with under a year of service time:<\/p>\n

OPS+ is figured with 100 as league average, so it\u2019s a mixed bag at best. But among players with more than 200 plate appearances this year, Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter entered play Monday night as two of just three players on the team with an OPS+ of over 100. (Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez, obviously, is the third).<\/p>\n

Is that good news? Not really! But is it good news about their ability to produce some edible burgers that don\u2019t come with a side of apocalypse? Maybe! \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 59-60
Last Power Ranking: 19
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Postseason or bust<\/p>\n

From 2000 through 2022, the Cardinals finished under .500 just once and made the postseason 16 times. Since then, they\u2019ve been under .500 in two out of three seasons, missing out on the playoffs each time. It\u2019s not hyperbolic to suggest this has been the most fallow stretch of Cardinals baseball in a generation.<\/p>\n

The Cardinals are a young team with a bright future, but they\u2019re also playing for an audience that\u2019s used to much, much more than squeaking into the back door of the postseason. They\u2019ll take the back door for now, but anything less would be a failure, even for a team this young. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 60-59
Last Power Ranking: 21
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Making the playoffs anyway<\/p>\n

To properly convey the vibe here, I need you to imagine a mid-30s John Candy. (For younger readers, Shane Gillis will do the trick.) He\u2019s playing the role of \u201cGuy who has seen some things, but has not learned a single one of the lessons that should have accompanied those things.\u201d The idea that the universe simply does not fold itself to accommodate your whimsical desires is so far beyond his scope of understanding that it might as well be a book written with words, rather than pictures.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll call him Jeff, because this character needs a name, so sure. That one works fine.<\/p>\n

Jeff walks into the Rangers front office. Nobody knows who he is or how he got in here. His eyebrows are raised hopefully, as if he anticipates being greeted as a hero rather than an interloper. His arms swing back and forth \u2014 not awkwardly, but in a manner that says \u201cYou\u2019re gonna like what I\u2019m about to say.\u201d He starts to nod and smile as he claps slowly, pacing forward into the office.<\/p>\n

Jeff: \u201cY\u2019all thinking what I\u2019m thinking? Ehhh? Playoffs, right? Playoffs?? Yeaahhhhh?!!?!?\u201d<\/p>\n

Reality would tell you that the next thing coming in this story is a taser or a piledriver. But reality would also tell you that the Rangers aren\u2019t a playoff team, and that winning the AL West would take a better-than-.500 record. Nothing makes sense anymore, so since we\u2019re looking to feel good in the final two months \u2026<\/p>\n

Sure, Jeff. Why not? Also, can you pitch an inning of relief tonight?\u00a0 \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 56-63
Last Power Ranking: 14
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Postseason or bust<\/p>\n

The symmetry between the Mariners and Padres continues to fascinate. The Padres have won a World Series game \u2014 \u201cit was back in 1984, you wouldn\u2019t know her\u201d \u2014 but that\u2019s the only major difference. Otherwise, they both play in West Coast cities that are too expensive because they\u2019re too nice, both with a strong seafood game. Oh, and they\u2019ve never won a championship, and they\u2019re both run by the baseball executives who have a lower aversion to risk than you, I, or anyone else should probably ever have.<\/p>\n

Also, this remains roughly the 30th consecutive year in which a Mariners-Padres World Series is simultaneously one of the most personally fascinating and unlikely combinations possible. Every move they make is built for the possibility, though, and you can\u2019t help but respect it. Keep pushing that boulder, fellas. You\u2019ll reach the top of the hill one day. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 59-61
Last Power Ranking: 17
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: An owner who is willing to spend?<\/p>\n

I have no idea if the Twins will make the playoffs. Maybe so, maybe not \u2026 either way, they\u2019re mostly in the same boat with the rest of the AL in that they\u2019re not really built for a deep run.<\/p>\n

But regardless of whether they make it or not, they should already feel good about the fact that ownership allowed them to add payroll<\/a> to make deals at the trade deadline. That bodes well for things like free agency, and \u201cnot slashing the payroll dramatically if the Twins make the playoffs, because that would be such a craven turn of events, wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 57-62
Last Power Ranking: 23
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: By noticing that the American League stinks<\/p>\n

The Orioles can feel good about the fact that there are three wild-card spots in the AL and no one outside of their division seems to want one. Right now, all it takes to have a playoff spot in the AL is a winning record. Get to one game above .500, and you\u2019re in, which is enough to keep the Orioles\u2019 playoff odds in the double digits. Coby Mayo and Jackson Holliday are showing signs of life, Shane Baz has been great lately, and there\u2019s nothing Adley Rutschman could do to help them right now anyway. It\u2019s been a bad year for the Orioles, but they can feel good about it having been a pretty bad year for almost everyone in the American League. \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 57-63
Last Power Ranking: 22<\/p>\n

How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Dylan Cease making a run at the AL Cy Young<\/p>\n

Dave Stieb was robbed a couple of times in the 1980s, but in the past 30 years, a Blue Jays pitcher has won the AL Cy Young award five times: Pat Hentgen in 1996, Roger Clemens in 1997 and 1998, Roy Halladay in 2003 and Robbie Ray in 2021. Cease could join the club in 2026. Signed to a seven-year deal this winter, Cease already made his first All-Star team and now leads the American League in pitching WAR (on both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference). He\u2019s been the brightest of bright spots in an otherwise dark year, and watching him chase a Cy Young Award would not only make every fifth game worth watching but also provide a bit of hope for another six years with that guy atop the rotation. \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 53-67
Last Power Ranking: 26
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: By relaxing to the sounds of George Harrison<\/p>\n

Sunrise doesn\u2019t last all morning
A cloudburst doesn\u2019t last all day
Seems my love is up and has left you with no warning
It\u2019s not always gonna be this gray<\/p>\n

A baseball season lasts 162 games, and the Mets have already played 120 of them. Fans can feel good knowing there are only 42 games left and then this season will end. Because, as George Harrison told us, all things must pass. Until then, there\u2019s always this guy<\/a>. \u2014 Jennings<\/p>\n

Record: 56-61
Last Power Ranking: T-24
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Spend as much time as possible hanging out with Terry Francona?<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a baseball lifer with a good sense of humor and a lot of knowledge to share.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Oh, are you asking about on-the-field feel-good stories? I don\u2019t really have too many options for you. Hunter Greene\u2019s season is over, and try to guess who this chart represents?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that Elly De La Cruz did go on the IL with a hamstring issue this year. He also battled through a quad problem last season. Those explain the problem, but they don\u2019t make the problem any easier to swallow, especially since he\u2019s in his age-24 season, not age-36.<\/p>\n

So how could they feel better? Maybe a good kinesiologist for De La Cruz, and then look toward the future. With Chase Burns, Sal Stewart and others, there\u2019s a chance for Cincinnati to have a better answer to this question in future years. \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 49-70
Last Power Ranking: T-24
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Getting clarification on the 2027 rotation<\/p>\n

The Giants haven\u2019t entered a full rebuild, despite being the biggest sellers at the deadline. They still have an entire starting infield in place for 2027, and there won\u2019t be many lineup spots to go around for any young players looking to break through, so they might as well go for it next season.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll need pitching. Oh, mercy, how they\u2019ll need pitching. The rotation is currently thinner than it was at the start of this season, when it was already much too thin. The younger starters they\u2019ve introduced to the majors have all struggled to throw strikes, so the rest of the season will be a hunt for the strike zone. The opportunities will be there, so if one of their throwers turns into a pitcher over the final two months, it would help their offseason logistics tremendously. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 49-71
Last Power Ranking: 28
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Something something Bobby Witt Jr.?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s cool that Carter Jensen appears to be the heir to Salvador Perez at catcher, and it\u2019s nice that Jac Caglianone crossed the 20-homer threshold. Michael Wacha has had a pretty good season. But the Royals have not, and I struggled to find a feel-good story for the final stretch.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m going with the obvious: The way Witt plays baseball makes it look beautiful, like the sport does all of this on purpose instead of being a chaotic goblin game invented by pedants and masochists. It\u2019s like watching someone play Risk in a way that makes friendships, instead of ruining them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As long as he\u2019s around, there\u2019s a way to feel good about watching baseball. \u2014 Weaver<\/p>\n

Record: 47-72
Last Power Ranking: 27<\/p>\n

How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Feeling better about some of their biggest contracts<\/p>\n

Lawrence Butler is 26 years old, and he\u2019s signed through the 2031 season. His OPS is currently .616. Jacob Wilson is 24, and he\u2019s signed through the 2032 season, but he hasn\u2019t made the counter-adjustment to whatever the league figured out about him in the middle of last year. There\u2019s a big difference between the .260 version of Wilson and the .330 version that he teased fans with.<\/p>\n

Getting them back to the extension-worthy players they were would go a long way toward salvaging an already disappointing season. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 45-74
Last Power Ranking: 29
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: By being normal bad, not Angels bad<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

At the cost of analyzing the GIF above until it isn\u2019t funny anymore, note that there\u2019s a way to actually be bad at making cereal. You can pour the milk too early, and the cereal can get soggy. You can pour from too high an elevation, and the splashing could make a big mess. The Angels can still screw up the cereal, don\u2019t get me wrong.<\/p>\n

A nice, normal final two months without setting the cereal on fire, though? That\u2019s all Angels fans crave right now. They\u2019ll figure out how to make it crunchier in the future, but right now, avoiding the worst-case scenarios and acting like a normal bad team instead of the typical Very Angels\u2122 team is where they need to start. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n

Record: 46-73
Last Power Ranking: 30
How they can feel good about the rest of the season: Staying out of MLB\u2019s cellar<\/p>\n

See that number next to the Rockies up there? It isn\u2019t 30. Good. Keep it that way. I\u2019m not a powerankologist (top-10 all-time worst party guest), so I don\u2019t know how many dead-last rankings the Rockies have endured over the last couple of years, but it\u2019s been too many. \u201cTwenty-ninth or better or bust\u201d doesn\u2019t have a ring to it, but you could probably sell a couple of shirts with that on it.<\/p>\n

There will be positive individual signs to look out for, to be sure, but the entire front office is still figuring out how to juggle an extra chainsaw compared to every other organization in baseball, considering the difficulties of assembling a winning team at altitude. The only direction was up, and anything other than 30th will be an accomplishment after an all-time horrible season. \u2014 Brisbee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every week,\u200b we\u200b ask a selected group of our baseball\u200b writers\u200b \u2014 local and national \u2014 to rank…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":810039,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[2317,4818,2111,371,374,479,2318,2319,2320,1230,372,373,2321,2322,2323,2324,2325,2326,363,1189,369,480,2240,2328,2329,481,99,1231,974,2330,364,2331],"class_list":["post-810038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-arizona-diamondbacks","tag-athletics","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-baltimore-orioles","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-chicago-white-sox","tag-cincinnati-reds","tag-cleveland-guardians","tag-colorado-rockies","tag-detroit-tigers","tag-houston-astros","tag-kansas-city-royals","tag-los-angeles-angels","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-miami-marlins","tag-milwaukee-brewers","tag-minnesota-twins","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-philadelphia-phillies","tag-pittsburgh-pirates","tag-san-diego-padres","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-seattle-mariners","tag-sports","tag-st-louis-cardinals","tag-tampa-bay-rays","tag-texas-rangers","tag-toronto-blue-jays","tag-washington-nationals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=810038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/810039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=810038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=810038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=810038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}